The image.
Cold sweats.
Those felt by Rafael Nadal.
The Spaniard was leading 3-0 in the 4th set of a match he had barely taken control of against Fabio Fognini when, after a defensive setback, the head of his racquet bounced off the ground to violently hit his nose.
The Spaniard had to lie down and seek the intervention of the trainer.
After a short break, the Spaniard resumed the match with a bandage on his nose.
And he had to wait 6 points, before planting an ace to interrupt the Italian's series.
“
It was a little hard at the start but it seems to be ok… It happened to me with a golf club but never with a racket
“, he then told on the court.
The Spaniard entered the game perfectly with a loose service game then suffered against a successful player who constantly put him under pressure, leaving him no time to organize himself.
Fognini easily pocketed the 1st set before leading 4-2 and suddenly seeing the unforced errors pile up.
The match had just turned.
Fabio Fognini had opened the door a crack.
In a match that collected breaks, Rafael Nadal, like in the first round against the Australian Rinky Hijikata, lost the initial round, before gaining momentum.
Facing him now, Richard Gasquet.
A player that the Spaniard has known by heart since adolescence and against whom he has never lost in seventeen matches.
To discover
US Open: men's schedule
US Open: ladies' schedule
The number: 3
Three blue colors.
After Caroline Garcia and Corentin Moutet qualified for the third round of the US Open on Wednesday, three French people have reached the second round of the US Open.
After dominating Emma Raducanu, Alizé Cornet continued by dominating the Czech Katerina Siniakova (83rd) 6-1, 1-6, 6-3.
For the first time in her career, the Niçoise (32) reached the 3rd round of all Grand Slam tournaments the same year.
Richard Gasquet who goes back in time, released 61 winning shots, multiplied the net climbs (21 points converted out of 33) to dominate the Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic (36th) 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
And Clara Burel (who had saved 4 match points in the last qualifying round) confirmed her current good mood (in the 1st round,
she had eliminated the Kazakh Elena Rybakina) by leaving the Belgian Alison van Uytvanck (43rd), 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
In the 3rd round, Alizé Cornet will challenge the American Danielle Collins (n°19).
Clara Burel will face the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka (n ° 6) who, trailing 6-2, 5-1, dismissed 2 balls before overcoming Kaia Kanepi 2-6, 7-6 (8), 6- 4 and settle, with Daniil Medvedev, as the only survivor of the Flush-Meadows 2021 semi-finalists. Richard Gasquet will face Rafael Nadal or Fabio Fognini.
The sentence:
"
I'm sorry for you that we beat them
"
Signed by the Czech Lucie Hradecka who, along with her compatriot Linda Nsokova eliminated the sisters Serena and Venus Williams during the 1st round of the doubles tournament.
Serena Williams (40), who has announced her upcoming retirement, and her older sister Venus (42) had filled up, gathering 23,800 spectators for their entry into the doubles tournament.
The Americans who won 14 Grand Slam titles in tandem (between 1999 and 2016, including two at Flushing Meadows) suffered, did not regain the fluidity that made them gold medalists at the Olympics in 2000, 2008 and 2012, piled up 182 victories in 217 matches.
The star duo were eliminated 7-6 (7/5), 6-4.
"
I am still in shock from our victory.
I'm sorry for you that we beat them, but we're so happy to have succeeded
", reacted Lucie Hradecka on the court, while Linda Nsokova, with bright eyes, agreed that "
playing against the Williams sisters is a special moment for anyone
”.
Serena and Venus Williams received a standing ovation in what should be their last doubles match together.
Serena Williams will be back on stage on Friday night to Saturday against Ajla Tomjanovic for a place in the round of 16.
The performance.
Signed by Belarusian Ilya Ivashka (73rd in the world; 28 years old) who offered himself the seeded n ° 8, the Pole Hubert Hurlacz 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3.
The Pole was penalized by the weight of faults (59 unforced errors; 5 double faults).
Only 5 of the top 10 seeds remain in the men's draw (#1 Medvedev, #3 Nadal, #4 Alcaraz, #7 Ruud and #8 Norrie).
The first one.
Cameron Norrie (seed No. 7) did not stumble against Portugal's Joao Sousa 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (4).
And allowed the British (Jack Draper, Cameron Norrie, Daniel Evans and Andy Murray) to sign an unprecedented group shot in the 3rd round of the US Open.
The tweet
That of the American Angela Kulikov.
Moved by the attention of the organization after her victory (the first at the US Open) obtained in doubles with her compatriot Sophie Chang 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 against the pair composed of Natela Dzalamidze and Kamilla Rakhimova .
“
The US Open made me cry.
It is such a special gift to find what was waiting for me
”.
Voltage.
Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine refused to shake hands with Belarusian Victoria Azarenka after losing 6-2, 6-3 in the second round, blaming her opponent for her silence on the war in Ukraine.
“
It was my decision.
I didn't want to
, ”explained Kostyuk at a press conference after opting for a slight clash of rackets at the end of the game.
“
She never came to see me to tell me what she thinks (of the ongoing conflict).
I have nothing against her personally.
I just think she has such an important role, as a member of the WTA Players Council, and also outside of tennis, in her country.
I think she could have done more
“, lamented the Ukrainian.
Kostyuk added that he tried to contact Azarenka by text message on Wednesday, the day before the match, to “
warn
her” of his refusal to shake hands.
“
I've offered to do it several times through the WTA.
I was told it was not the right time.
I don't have a close relationship with Marta, I never had.
I obviously know who she is, but I've never trained or had a conversation with her
,” Azarenka summed up.
The copy-paste
As in 2021, and at the same stage of the competition, the Canadian Denis Shapovalov met the Spaniard Roberto Caballes Baena.
And like last year, the Canadian won 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
The Spaniard having, this time, taken a set.
He is in the round of 16 of the US Open for the 6th time.
The seeded n°19 has an appointment with the Russian Andrey Rublev (n°9).
